A Vardaman man is out on bond after attacking another man with a machete, lighting himself on fire and diving head first under a truck going down the road.
Vardaman Police Chief Kenneth Scott said Jaime Ramirez, 30, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he attacked John Davison with a machete last Thursday, July 9.
Scott said Davison, 61, was working on a fence around 10:30 a.m. when Ramirez came walking down the road, picked up the machete and attacked.
Ramirez
Scott said the two men had no history or connection. “John was a complete stranger to him,” Scott said.
Davison suffered a cut to one thumb that required stitches and badly bruised palms where he was clutching the machete blade during the struggle.
Scott said there were two witnesses who came to Davison’s aide and wrestled the machete away from Ramirez.
Ramirez then picked up a nearby jug of gasoline Davison was using for a generator and poured it over the top of his own head. Scott said Ramirez then lit himself on fire.
The witnesses knocked Ramirez to the ground and extinguished the fire that badly burned the top of his head and neck.
Scott said when they thought they had him calmed down and were treating his burns, Ramirez spotted a vehicle coming down the road and he took off running toward it and dove under the moving truck.
Scott said James K. Hardin was driving the pickup and he attempted to swerve to miss Ramirez, “but had no chance of avoiding him.” The rear tire ran over Ramirez’s leg breaking it.
Ramirez was transported to the hospital where he has since been released. He was officially charged at the county jail and posted bond.
Scott said based on his investigation, Ramirez has no history of mental illness, but believes the incident was a product of a reaction to illegal drug use.
He said Ramirez was back living with his girlfriend on Casey Avenue in Vardaman awaiting his court date.
“It’s definitely very concerning for the community,” Scott said.